Abu Dhabi calling

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the global economy seems to be recovering faster than expected from the financial crisis, and that it may prove less devastating than predicted.

“The recovery has started, financial markets are healing and in most countries growth will be positive for the rest of the year as well as in 2010,” Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s economic counselor, told reporters on Thursday.

In the UAE, Cityscape Dubai may not be attracting the same number of developers and projects that it did last year, but neighboring Abu Dhabi is now making sure that it is filling its coffers with foreign investment.

The city is planning to launch numerous projects for foreign investors in the following sectors: infrastructure, healthcare, finance and industry, explained Mohammad Omar Abdullah, the undersecretary of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) at a press conference on Sunday. The DED, along with local and international sponsors, is organizing the second Abu Dhabi Investment Forum in London on October 19.

The emirate is working towards its economic vision 2030, which will require significant funding, said the authorities. According to Jeremy Parrish, the CEO of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain for Standard Chartered, the emirate needs around $100 billion for its projects, which cannot be funded by local banks. Although the emirate can fund these projects from its own reserves, it’s better to diversify the resources, he said. Issuers in Abu Dhabi have managed to raise $11.6 billion from the international debt capital market this year, as compared to nil last year.